Minister of Middle Class Disparity

Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, \

and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. 

He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom.

 He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. 

He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
        to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
    and recovery of sight to the blind,
        to let the oppressed go free,  

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Luke 4:14-19 (NRSV)

During the recent federal election campaign there was a lot of chatter about the beleaguered Canadian middle class. Conservative leader Andrew Scheer campaigned on affordability for this segment of our society, and tried to portray himself as an average guy just getting ahead, even though he's made plenty of taxpayer dollars since get elected as an MP at age 25. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals also promised to help the hard-working middle class, promising tax cuts and lower phone bills -- don't hold your breath waiting for the latter. Neither of them actually defined what middle class means in this country.



Being middle class in Canada may require some budgeting, but it isn't the same as being poor. And those living in poverty who are looking up at the middle class with justifiable envy didn't get much attention during the election. There are lots of poor people who live lives of quiet desperation, probably shaking their heads in disbelief at a PM who hopped in a canoe for a photo shoot and offered a couple of thousand dollars per household as a "camping credit" to get kids outdoors. When you can't afford a bus pass it's hard to imagine being thrilled about camping cash, even though I always like the idea of people getting outside. 

There were plenty of Canadians, myself included, who wondered if the announcement of a new cabinet last week prompted the creation of a satirical portfolio by The Beaverton. The Libs offered up the first Minister of Middle Class Prosperity whose appointee, Mona Fortier, has stick-handled around what she is supposed to do in the job, and what this prosperity looks like. On the CBC radio program The Current she intoned “They have a quality of life, and they can have, you know, send their kids to play hockey or even have different activities. It’s having the cost of living where you can do what you want with your families.” Ahhhh!


Both Mr. Scheer and Mr. Trudeau claim to be Roman Catholics, so they shouldn't need to have their memories jogged about Jesus, the peasant who proclaimed Good News to the poor and oppressed. There are millions in this country of relative prosperity who are doing all they can to pay the bills and eat every day and stay healthy. They sure aren't playing hockey or going on family vacations. 

I have been blessed to be middle class for most of my life, even though we were frugal coupon clippers when our children were growing up. Even then I knew that there was disparity between rich, including the middle class, and the poor and that both my taxes and responsible were necessary to level that playing field. 

Do we need a Minister of Middle Class Disparity instead, to address the gap and offer a reality check about what is fair for all Canadians? Or should we request a Minister of Silly
Walks?...